I received this trade offer in a dynasty league: Give Archie Bradley and Gyorko, receive Anibal Sanchez. I just lost Matt Moore so I'm kind of itching to get another SP, but this doesn't seem like nearly enough, right?(SBP from Indiana)

No, I don't make that deal. Bradley could be better than Sanchez by 2016, and Gyorko is a good MI option with starting 2B upside. Even if you think Gyorko moves to 3B next year, your package is better. (Ben Carsley)

Anibal Sanchez led the AL in 2013 with a 2.57 ERA (supported by a 2.42 FIP). PECOTA is projecting him to regress to a 3.72 ERA, which is more in line with the rest of his career. He did add plenty of strikeouts to his game last year.. did his stuff improve? Where would you peg his 2014 ERA if you were to guess?(mattstupp from NYC)

His stuff did improve. Detroit has shown a penchant for pulling the most from their MLB acquisitions recently (see also: Fister, Doug) and tapping into that extra reservoir of talent. Remember, Sanchez was always slated to be a bit better than the guy we saw in Miami, so it's no shock that he's finally clicking on all cylinders. With a healthy shoulder, I see a low-3.00s ERA. (Paul Sporer)

Are you somewhat afraid of Anibal Sanchez?. He was filthy when he pitched last year, but the labarum history is concerning. (Dylan from SF)

Sanchez also invokes some spine-tilt in his delivery - I gave him a peak grade of 50 posture in the SP Guide but it often falls into the 40s - and poor posture is a precursor to shoulder injury. He has continued to refine his delivery since coming to Detroit, which minimizes the worry a bit.

I spoke about this a bit, but I'm still curious. I find projection have hard time looking at true steps forwards and backward.
Shouldn't we give things like recent SwgStr%,Whiff-rate,F-strike%,velocity,batted ball type more weight in projections? It seems odd that PECOTA looks at Anibal Sanchez and see a 3.78 ERA despite his insane 12.8% SwgStr rate. Yet seem Sabathia posting a better ERA despite decline in these numbers.
Same.for using batted ball profile and things like xBABIP for hitter. I know CHRONE used to use batted ball.(Matt from Boston)

PECOTA is probably more cautious than most systems with reacting to breakout or fallback years. Which is not a bad thing, since guys often regress back. But not always, sometimes something has changed that PECOTA doesn't account for. So that's a major area of research for us...if you folks are reading between the lines you'll have noticed that we plan on doing a lot of experimentation with PECOTA this year. Stay tuned. (Harry Pavlidis)

Is Anibal Sanchez going to disappoint this year? (Parker11 from Texas)

Depends on your expectations. Pay for a 3.30 ERA in 190 IP and you could be pleasantly surprised by something closer to last year. He is for real, though, so no I don't think he will disappoint. (Paul Sporer)

Daniel,like George who wanted to eat, watch tv, and have sex at the same time I would like to acquire Samardzia and Anibal Sanchez in my dynasty league. Unfortunately, I do not have the Costanza charm and have to choose between them. Who is the better pitcher for next five years?(seabass77 from Milwaukee)

Haha, seabass77. I think in this case, I'd consider Anibal Sanchez the strawberries with chocolate sauce and Jeff Samardzija the pastrami on rye with mustard. The risk associated with his shoulder occasionally flaring up notwithstanding, I think Sanchez has a good deal more upside and will be a much more stable source of wins (assuming your league counts those). If the price tag is the same, get Sanchez and be happy with that. (Daniel Rathman)

Are you worried at all about how Anibal Sanchez will fare after his DL stint?(Alex from Anaheim)

shoulders worry me, always. Perhaps irrationally so. So, yes. He has dealt with these things before, I'm not sure if that means "hey he'll be fine again" or "how many lives does this cat have?" (Harry Pavlidis)

Gerrit Cole, Heredia, and Anibal Sanchez for Braun in real MLB salary league, good deal? I still have some decent pitching prospects left, and I figure with Goldschmidt, Miggy, McCutchen, and Braun I am set offensively. (Jay from CA)

Sam - who'd you rather have? Anibal Sanchez or Trevor Bauer? For next year? For next three years? For next six years? Thanks.(R.A. Wagman from Toronto)

Sanchez for all. The weird paradox is that Bauer *should* have the better long-term outlook because he's young and has upside and he might actually win three Cy Youngs. But the further out you go the more makeup matters, and the more disappointing Bauer starts to look. (Sam Miller)

Gosh, that's a tough comp. Anibal is theoretically in the peak of his career, while Turner will turn 22 this year and has thrown less than 70 big-league innings. I don't know that to make of Turner yet, frankly. If I were a GM trying to decide between the 2 players, it would really depend on where my team was and what I felt my competition window looked like. If I needed a front of the rotation guy for 2013, I go Sanchez; if I'm looking beyond this season, I might go Turner. Tough call. (Ian Miller)

Should the Phillies consider going all in for Hamilton or focus more on Ross? How about alternative of going with current OFs and adding another pitcher such as Anibal Sanchez?(BruceSchwindt from Virginia)

I don't think teams should go all in. If the Phillies go all in for Hamilton, they will have gone all in and been unlikely to win. You know what happens when you go all in and you don't win? You have to go sit in the parking lot and read the New Yorker for two hours while your friend keeps playing. (Sam Miller)

With the Cardinals' inevitable loss of Kyle Lohse, do you see them being active in the free agent sp market? Besides Wainwright, Shelby Miller, maybe Garcia, Carpenter and Westbrook, they are a bit light. I think Kelly or Rosenthal could replace Lynn.
Thank you.(Chopper from Indy)

Hi Chopper. I'm not sure what the Cardinals might be thinking, but if I ran things, I'd wouldn't be looking to replace Lohse's 2012 performance. Adam Wainwright should improve a year removed from surgery and Chris Carpenter should give the team more than three starts. I'd be targeting guys to slot in behind those two, guys who maybe are on level with what Lohse was when he came to St. Louis. Specifically, I'd be looking at Joe Blanton, Edwin Jackson, Shaun Marcum, and Anibal Sanchez. If I wanted to gamble, I might make a play for Scott Baker. But this all says more about my process than the Cardinals', so take it with a grain of salt. (Geoff Young)

Keeper League...looking to move LaHair for some SP. Who would be some of your favorite mid-level starters to target right now? Points league with emphasis on ERA/quality starts. Always looking for upside but need current yr production as well. (David from San Diego)

Good morning hombre- I'm a big Marlins fan. What would you do in the offseason to put this team into the playoffs? I miss the glory days of 2003 and watching them play this year has been killer. I'm dying for another shot at a ring. Any thoughts to help appease my pain? (Angel Batista from Miami, Florida)

I'm bullish on the Marlins, Detective Batista. Anibal Sanchez has taken a big step forward. Clay Hensley and Leo Nunez have been great out of the bullpen. Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco are great. They'll have a healthy Coghlan back. There is a lot to like. Starting Wes Helms more than once a year isn't really that wise, and it's time to give up on the Andrew Miller experiment, but there is no reason they couldn't go 87-75 next season and try to sneak into a playoff spot. (Eric Seidman)

All are supposed to be 100 percent by spring training. I've been told Carmona has finally understood that he needs to get in shape and is the Indians are excited to see him in February. (John Perrotto)

Thanks for the your last unfiltered spot - it really helped clarify some thing for me. My question is in reference to a potential sim league (Diamond Mind) transaction but am curious as to your thoughts for the sake of MLB.
Howie Kendrick for Jon Sanchez. Who gets the better end of this deal for the rest of the year? Rest of the player's careers?(JM from Tucson)

Let me ask you this... if Sanchez didn't throw a no-hitter, would there be this hype? Bud Smith and Anibal Sanchez have also thrown no-hitters. Sanchez has talent but I really do fear his career takes the Oliver Perez route instead of the Matt Cain route. I'd need to know more about the league, like who you have in the infield and your staff but I do want to impart not to overrate Sanchez because he threw a no-hitter. (Eric Seidman)

Thanks for the chat Will. What are Anibal Sanchez' health prospects for 2009?(jtrichey from Indianapolis)

Hard to tell. he was terrible in winter ball and was shut down after just a few starts. I really have no idea what to expect from him or most of the guys behind him. The Marlins are clearly playing for, what, 2012 when the new stadium opens? (Will Carroll)

Evening mentioning the Beckett/ Hanley trade with the Bagwell/Anderson trade is absurd.
As you said, we are talking about the defending world champs. Seriously, if we could rewind the clock, would you make that deal? Hanley's a stud, but c'mon this is real baseball not fantasy, it's about winning a ring.
(Beantown Joe from Boston)

Honestly, based on the available data, I probably would not have made it. Lowell looked like he was done, and his surprising performance for the Sox had as much to do with their victory last year as Beckett's rise to top-tier starter. Then again, when I was initially criticizing the deal, I might not have taken the Sox park factors into account re: Lowell enough. That's a good question, honestly. I also may have overrated Anibal Sanchez a bit on his way out the door. (Marc Normandin)

Thinking about Anibal Sanchez and Joe Girardi... Has a player ever sued their team for negligence over an injury? Many employees have won lawsuits for heath issues caused by ergonomically-poor working environments. Do athletes have a leg to stand on (no pun here) or are they considered to be more like soldiers in battle?(havybeaks from Michigan)

I don't think its ever been actually filed, but I know that one player in the past five years certainly considered it. (Will Carroll)

BP Roundtables

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PITCHf/x Pitcher Profile

Anibal Sanchez has thrown 17,459 pitches that have been tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2008 and 2014, including pitches thrown in the MLB Regular Season and the MLB Postseason. In 2014, he has relied primarily on his Fourseam Fastball (93mph), Slider (88mph) and Change (86mph), also mixing in a Sinker (93mph) and Curve (80mph).